Norm Smith Medal

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox sports award The Norm Smith Medal is an Australian rules football award presented annually to the player adjudged the best on ground in the grand final of the Australian Football League (AFL). Prior to 1990, the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL).<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> It was first presented in the 1979 VFL Grand Final, and it was won by Wayne Harmes, playing in Carlton's premiership victory against Collingwood.<ref name="Wayne Harmes"/> The award is named in honour of Norm Smith,<ref name="Wayne Harmes"/> who won four VFL premierships as a player and six as coach for the Melbourne Football Club.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Dustin Martin (2017, 2019 and 2020) is the only player to win the award three times.<ref name="Andrew McLeod">Template:Cite news</ref> The award is usually won by a player on the winning team in the grand final; only four players have received the award as members of the losing teams: Maurice Rioli in 1982, Gary Ablett Sr. in 1989, Nathan Buckley in 2002, and Chris Judd in 2005.<ref name="Losing Team">Template:Cite news</ref> The club with the most Norm Smith Medal wins is Hawthorn, with eight awards won by players representing the club. The most recent recipient of the award is Brisbane's Will Ashcroft.

Voting and presentation

The winner is voted on by a five-member panel consisting of former players, journalists and media personalities, with one member designated as the chair.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Each panellist independently awards three votes, two votes and one vote to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best in the match, respectively. These are tallied and the highest number of combined votes wins the medal.<ref name="Voting">Template:Cite news</ref>

There is no chance of a tie for the medal; if two players are tied for votes, the following countbacks will apply in order:

• the player with the higher number of three-votes;
• the player with the higher number of two-votes;
• the player deemed best by the panel chair.<ref name="Voting"/>

Paul Chapman is the only player to win on a countback,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> after he and Jason Gram tied with nine votes apiece in 2009.<ref name="2009 countback">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>

In some years judges were required to lodge their decisions prior to the completion of the match, to ensure votes were compiled in time for the ceremony.<ref name="2002 voting">Template:Cite news</ref> This was changed following the 2002 AFL Grand Final, after Michael Voss had five crucial possessions in the last five minutes of the close game which could have swayed the voting, but eventually placed fourth behind Nathan Buckley.<ref name="2002 voting"/> After the match, three of the five judges suggested they would have voted differently if they had lodged their votes after the final siren.<ref name="2002 voting"/>

Prior to the 2016 season, if the grand final resulted in a draw, the game would be replayed the following week.<ref name="Drawn Grand Finals">Template:Cite news</ref> In such instances, a separate Norm Smith Medal was awarded in each game.<ref name="Lenny Hayes">Template:Cite news</ref> Since 2016, a drawn grand final would result in the use of extra time to determine the winner, rather than a full-match replay.<ref name="Drawn Grand Finals"/>

The medal is presented in a post-match ceremony held immediately after the conclusion of the match. Since 2004, former Norm Smith medallists have presented the award, in the order of the year in which they won;<ref name="James Hird">Template:Cite news</ref> as of 2024, Gary Ablett Sr. is the only former winner to decline presenting the award;Template:Fact and Nathan Buckley's position in the sequence was skipped in 2019, as he was coaching Collingwood, who were yet to be eliminated when the decision on presenter had to be made.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Recipients

A male athlete with light hair wearing a polo shirt and pants walks on the grass surface of the playing arena.

Nathan Buckley is one of just four players to have received the Norm Smith Medal as a member of the losing grand final team, winning the award in 2002.<ref name="Losing Team"/>

A male athlete with dark hair wearing a jumper sits in a chair.

Chris Judd is the most recent player to receive the medal as a member of the losing grand final team, winning in 2005.<ref name="Losing Team"/>

A male athlete with dark hair wearing a sleeved jersey smiles at camera.

Luke Hodge is one of just five players to have won multiple Norm Smith Medals, winning in 2008 and 2014.<ref name="Andrew McLeod"/>

A male bald-headed athlete wearing a sleeved jersey and shorts standing on the grass surface of the playing arena.

Paul Chapman is the only player to win the Norm Smith Medal on a countback, winning in 2009.<ref name="2009 countback"/>

A male athlete with dark hair wearing a sleeved jersey and compression pants runs on the boundary of the grass surface of the playing arena.

Lenny Hayes is the only player to have won a Norm Smith medal in a drawn grand final, doing so in 2010.<ref name="Lenny Hayes"/>

Table key

^	Player was member of losing team

Table of recipients

Year	Recipient	Club	Template:Abbr
1979	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Car	<ref name="Wayne Harmes">Template:Cite news</ref>
1980	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ric	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1981	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Car	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1982	Template:Sortname^	Template:AFL Ric	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1983	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
1984	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ess	<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
1985	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ess	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1986	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	<ref name="Holmesby & Main p.34">Template:Harvnb</ref>
1987	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Car	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1988	Template:Sortname (2)	Template:AFL Haw	<ref name="Holmesby & Main p.34"/>
1989	Template:Sortname^	Template:AFL Gee	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1990	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Col	<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
1991	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1992	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL WC	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1993	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ess	<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>
1994	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL WC	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1995	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Car	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1996	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL NM	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1997	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ade	<ref name="Andrew McLeod"/>
1998	Template:Sortname (2)	Template:AFL Ade	<ref name="Andrew McLeod"/>
1999	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL NM	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2000	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ess	<ref name="James Hird"/>
2001	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL BL	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2002	Template:Sortname^	Template:AFL Col	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2003	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL BL	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2004	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2005	Template:Sortname^	Template:AFL WC	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2006	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL WC	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2007	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Gee	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2008	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2009	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Gee	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2010	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL StK	<ref name="2010 Grand Final">Template:Cite news</ref>
2010 (R)	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Col	<ref name="2010 replay">Template:Cite news</ref>
2011	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Gee	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2012	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Syd	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2013	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2014	Template:Sortname (2)	Template:AFL Haw	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2015	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2016	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL WB	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ric	<ref name="Dustin Martin">Template:Cite news</ref>
2018	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL WC	<ref name="Luke Shuey">Template:Cite news</ref>
2019	Template:Sortname (2)	Template:AFL Ric	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	Template:Sortname (3)	Template:AFL Ric	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2021	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Mel	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2022	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Gee	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2023	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Col	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2024	Template:Sortname	Template:AFL BL	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2025	Template:Sortname Template:Small	Template:AFL BL	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Players with multiple wins

Table of multiple recipients

Player	Team	Medals	Years
Dustin Martin	Richmond	3	2017, 2019, 2020
Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	2	1986, 1988
Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Ade	2	1997, 1998
Template:Sortname	Template:AFL Haw	2	2008, 2014
Template:Sortname	Template:AFL BL	2	2024, 2025

Club totals

Table of clubs' totals

Club	Total	Years
Template:AFL Haw	8	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Gee	5	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Ric	5	Template:Sort, 2019, 2020
Template:AFL WC	5	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Car	4	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Col	4	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Ess	4	Template:Sort
Template:AFL BL	4	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Ade	2	Template:Sort
Template:AFL NM	2	Template:Sort
Template:AFL	1	Template:Sort
Template:AFL StK	1	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Syd	1	Template:Sort
Template:AFL WB	1	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Mel	1	Template:Sort
Template:AFL Fre	0	—
Template:AFL GWS	0	—
Template:AFL GC	0	—

See also

• Jack Oatey Medal
• Simpson Medal
• Norm Goss Memorial Medal
• Clive Churchill Medal

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Norm Smith Medal - AFL.com.au